Before you really commit to spending your hard earned cash and valuable time on an online marketing campaign, you probably would like to know the answer to that question, right?

After all, staring at a 14" box and pecking along six rows of keys into the wee hours of every morning is NOT the definition of fun for most "normal" people. (For the record I don't consider myself to be amongst the "normals".)

So why do it?

Is it all going to be worth your while? More than likely, you've heard many people saying that it's NOT worth all the trouble, that people online are NOT buying.

"They are browsers, not buyers" I've heard from more than a few would-be netrepreneurs. I keep reading things like, "People on the internet want free information, they're not there to make purchases!"

Well you can believe all the naysayers if you want to. After all, those excuses are a great way to ease the frustration that accompanies a slow online marketing campaign.

The simple fact is, people online DO spend money. They ARE willing to shell out their hard earned bucks on the internet. I know this first hand. On top of dozens of orders received by email every week, I receive twice that amount in my mailbox that include printed email sales letters. I also receive many orders at my secure server each day. All of this action comes exclusively from my online marketing efforts. What am I selling? Information products. Not just any info products mind you, good solid manuals about inexpensive online marketing strategies.

So why are so many people under the impression that online marketing is not worth the effort? The naysayers must be bending their ears too far! Maybe these naysayers just don't have the "right stuff". Just like in any traditional marketing campaign you need all the right ingredients to succeed. If you don't have the "right stuff", you will not see the profits.

So what constitutes the "right stuff"? Simple. You need solid products that are in high demand and you need a marketing campaign that reaches your target audience.

First a little more on your product...

What's in demand on the internet? Well I can certainly vouch for information products. If that's what you're selling, here's a little tip. The key to selling information online is offering up to date information. Forget about those old marketing reports that were written twenty years ago. Internet customers want fresh stuff. Stuff that will help them succeed in this new arena. If you can help them, they'll pay for it.

If it's not information you're selling, how do you decide if your product or service is right for the internet? After all, some products and services are great for the net while others simply are not. Well you don't have to be a writer or publisher to make money in cyberspace. Other types of small businesses making money on the internet include web page designers, network marketers, and graphic artists just to name a few. The list goes on and on and the possibilities are limited only by your imagination.

Here's a good rule of thumb in determining if online marketing could work for your product or service. If whatever you are offering could serve a national or global marketplace effectively, you can use the internet to market it. Keep in mind however, you must also be able to deliver the goods! I found that out quickly when I started receiving orders from places like Portugal to Luxembourg and from The Netherlands to Singapore! Within months I had customers in over thirty countries, proving that this truly is an international marketplace!

Now lets look at the other ingredient to a successful online marketing crusade. As with any traditional marketing campaign, the most important aspect is to reach your target audience. But just who are the customers in cyberspace? Well believe it or not, most of them haven't even arrived yet! (That's right, it's not too late for you to set up shop.) Many industry experts expect the online population to explode to over 100 million by the turn of the century! With those numbers your potential customer base is virtually unlimited!

So what about the millions of paying customers that ARE online? How does one go about hooking up with them? Here are just a few methods the pro's are using.

We all know the Web is a resource for fun and information. Have you ever stopped to really think about why it's such a wonderful marketing tool? If you already use a Web site to market your business, or are considering doing so, the following concepts may give you something new to consider!

The idea of "marketing" seems to make many a bit uncomfortable. Using a Web site as a marketing tool is a way of providing a virtual candy store of your business. You can really have fun and get creative in the process of decorating your storefront to catch a would-be visitors attention and have them come into your shop.

Financially speaking, the Web is "The Great Equalizer" of the marketing world. Whereas other forms of advertising and marketing, such as television, radio, and print media, are often very expensive for small companies and individuals. Nowadays anyone can use the Web to advertise and market their products or services at very affordable prices. While the cost of creating a Web site may vary based on the simplicity or complexity of the design (number of web pages, the nature and amount of graphics, programming scripts, databases, etc.), the cost of running or maintaining a Web site over time is minimal as compared to other media. It is a means of advertising that is financially within reach of everyone.

As the "owner" of your Web site, you control the message and images you want to portray. You get to decide what you want to say with it, it's your own personal billboard! You have as much space to get the message across as you need, so use it well to your advantage. Make it attractive, professional, functional and well organized. Make sure your Identity is what your site projects out to the viewers. Imagine you are a potential client visiting your site for the first time, simply said put yourself in their shoes. As a new client what are you looking for? What is in it for your client? Why should they do business with you? Have them repeatedly visit your site to enhance their experience of your product or service as often a possible. You should have these and other questions on your mind; this is what your site should answer to any potential client. In all make sure their experience was a pleasant one as possible. Make sure the site is easy to navigate, have consistent layout and cool color scheme, by all means try to avoid too much animation it gets to distracting and annoying.

(Note: Think about Web Site that you've visited that you either love or hate and why? Apply those same standards to your own site.)

With the Web, you're "virtually" unlimited and free to make changes as frequent as you see fit. The more fresh and innovative the content, the more value it will be to others. It is critical that you periodically review your site to see if it's getting stale and outdated. This practice will without a doubt keep customers revisiting your site, since they are always curious about new offers, promos, or updates you have done. Think of it as a simply and free added value you provide to visitors, giving them a reason to come back to your Web site.

Remember that your goal is to attract visitors to your site while providing a pleasant experience. This will surely keep them revisiting your site if you provide fresh new updates or free goodies you may be offering. Hopefully with this they will get the word out about your site leading to potential buying customers.